"I Will Never Forgive Myself": Grandson Killed His Own Grandmother—Prosecutors Cite Greed as Motive
Grandson admits killing grandmother in Munich for financial gain
In an alleged argument, the grandson killed his grandmother in Munich's Schwabing district. He then attempted to stage a suicide and fled to London. But prosecutors argue it was a robbery-murder driven by greed.
Munich – He pulls his hood low over his face, clutching a file folder in front of him—but Jonathan B. (24) cannot escape his fate. In regional court, he admits to killing his grandmother, Polina (76), in a fit of rage "because she humiliated me." Now, he faces life in prison for murder.
His relationship with his grandmother had always been "difficult," marked by emotional dependence. "I never felt good enough for her. She constantly called me a failure, said I wasn't a real man," the unemployed grandson testifies through his lawyers. Slumped on the defendant's bench, his hair shorn short, his legs trembling, he seems on the verge of exploding. Two police officers guard the slight-framed Jonathan B., deemed highly aggressive by the court.
On March 16, 2025, the conflict with Polina B. escalated: In her Schwabing apartment, Jonathan B. had eaten mangoes and bananas—she accused him of theft and threatened to cut off contact. "She insulted me for minutes. I felt worthless and just wanted it to stop. I screamed at her to shut up. She slapped me hard. Then I lost control. When I let go of her, she had no pulse left," his lawyers read from his statement.
He refuses to disclose exactly what he did—or how. All he admits is that he "snapped" and saw everything "through a haze." He now calls the act "inexcusable" and says he is taking responsibility—though he had previously denied the murder to police. "I destroyed both her family and mine. I will never forgive myself," he says.
A heated argument, a crime of passion—unplanned, his defense claims. They push for a manslaughter conviction and a maximum 15-year sentence. But prosecutors allege premeditated murder for financial gain. They describe how B. strangled his grandmother with extreme violence, driven by greed and malice. Fearing she would cut him off financially, he allegedly killed her to secure her support.
After the act, Jonathan B. claims he "panicked." Prosecutors see cold calculation: They say he tried—and failed—to access her safe-deposit box at Stadtsparkasse's Tal branch using her bank cards. Inside, the elderly woman had stored around €69,000, $20,000, and jewelry.
In a chilling attempt to cover his tracks, "the defendant inflicted vertical knife wounds on both of the victim's forearms and placed her body in the bathtub," prosecutors allege. He admits he wanted to "stage a suicide." According to the indictment, he then "eliminated potential evidence in the apartment and locked the bathroom door from the outside." Using his dead grandmother's phone, he sent a message to her cleaner: "Please don't come today—tomorrow would be better." He initially fled to London but, he claims, returned out of fear, hiding in various Munich hotels. Police arrested him five days after the fatal attack.
The regional court will hear the case until April 14.
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